Introduction
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The department of Paediatric Surgery was created as an independent department in 1969 with Dr. P. Upadhayay as the first head of department. Thereafter the department was headed by Prof. M. Rohatgi (1987-1993) and then Prof. D.K. Mitra (1993-2005). At present Prof. D.K. Gupta is the Head of the department.
The department is always in the forefront and is rated as one of the finest departments not only in the country but at the international level for quality patient care, teaching, training and research. Department also had the state of the art neonatal surgical intensive care unit for the first time in the country. This department has contributed significantly in promoting the development of pediatric surgery at the national and international level. The department has also taken a lead to publish the textbook of neonatal surgery (Modern Publishers, 2000) and the progress in pediatric urology (series). The department has also been given the responsibility to publish the journal of the Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons (JIAPS, Prof D.K.Gupta as its Editor in Chief) and the text book of Pediatric Surgery, again sponsored by the national association. |
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It is a pleasant task to recall the history of the department and take pride in its achievements. However as in everyday life, difficult moments did creep in and in overcoming these, we believe we have emerged stronger after each such episode.
It was in 1968, that Dr.P.Upadhyaya, then Associate Professor of Surgery, returned after availing a WHO fellowship in Pediatric Surgery and took charge of Pediatric Surgery unit within the department of General Surgery at AIIMS. It was 29th March 1971, that the umbilical cord was finally severed and the Department of pediatric Surgery came on its own with Dr.Upadhyaya as its first head. It was a humble beginning with 24 beds earmarked within the surgical ward and two registrars - Dr.L.K.Sharma and Dr. R.K.Kashyap. Dr.M.Rohatgi joined the department in May 1970 as Assistant Professor, the faculty strength of the department has gradually increased to six with the joining of Dr.D.K.Mitra (1976), Dr.D.K.Gupta (1985), Dr.V.Bhatnagar (1986), Dr.M.Bajpai (1988) , Dr.S.Agarwala (1994) and Dr.M.Srinivas (1999).
Dr. P.Upadhyaya became the first professor in 1976 and was the head of the department till his retirement in 1987. From this time onwards Dr.M.Rohatgi was the head till her untimely demise in January 1993 in a train accident. Prof.D.K.Mitra, an alumni of the department, took over as the Head of the Department in 1993. Prof. D.K.Gupta is currently the head of the Department since January 2005.
The first M.Ch. trainee, Dr.S.Chooramani was selected in July 1972 and since then 60 M.Ch. trainees have been groomed into holding responsible teaching positions in the country and abroad. Due to ever increasing clinical and research workload, the strength of the senior residents was increased from two to four in 1979, to six in 1982 and again to nine in 1994. Five years integrated M.Ch. course in Pediatric Surgery, after MBBS, was launched in the Department in July 1979 and it continues till date. In addition the department also trains post-graduates in general surgery, pediatrics and nuclear medicine for 2-12 weeks making them aware of the common pediatric surgical problems and their management. The department frequently receives the postgraduate students in Pediatric surgery from different centers in the country to obtain their neonatal surgical exposures 4-12 weeks at this Institute.
Experimental work forms an integral part of the M.Ch training, besides the routine clinical project. The experimental laboratory of the department is now equipped with an operating microscope, egg incubator, equipment for processing of histopathology slides, laminar flow, operating microscopes, deep freeze and an array of other equipment. It has its own animal facility area. Lot of original experimental work has been done in the field of splenic conservation, CSF shunts, embryo-toxic factors in congenital malformations, duplication cysts, metabolic responses to surgery, biliary atresia, intersex disorders, pediatric urological problems, intestinal atresia, esophageal atresia, to name a few. Many innovations made in the department are being utilized in day to day practice for the benefit of the patients. Neonatal Gastric pull-up is one such example . This procedure has saved large number of critically sick newborns with major leaks after the TEF repair.
In April 1993 the department received a jolt when a fire consumed the department’s offices and laboratory destroying precious records and equipment. What we see today is the department rebuilt after such a colossal loss.
The pediatric surgical ward was trans-located to its present position on 5th floor (AB-5 wing) in the year 1969 , and has now a strength of 34 beds. The neonatal surgical Intensive care unit has recently been upgraded and to house 8 neonates and is equipped with the state of the art life support system for each newborn (ventilator, monitors, infusion pumps, humidifier, photo-therapy machine, and blood gas analyzer and others).
The department has been receiving support from the sister departments like anesthesiology, nuclear medicine, radiology, pathology, oncology and neonatology at odd hours. The department has also been extending the specialized services and running the afternoon clinics in the field of hydrocephalus, pediatric urology, oncology, intersex disorders and antenatal diagnosis and management. A follow-up clinic has also been started to manage the surgical newborns with antenatally detected malformations efficiently.
Blood gas analyser and four channel recorder were installed in the ward way back in 1972, and now have been upgraded. The Urodynamic machine serves both the clinical as well as the research purposes. Micro-analyser and multi-channel monitoring system have been added recently. The ward now has a special care area equipped with the latest monitoring equipment, ventilators, intra-cranial pressure monitoring device, and facility for uroflometery and ano-rectal manometery. Esophageal pH manometry has also been recently added. Department has also acquired the Doppler ultrasound machine to meet the requirements of the neonates and children with various types of disorders.
In 1975, the first neonatal surgical ICU, in India, was established at the AIIMS. This was initially located in separate cubicles at one end of the children’s surgical ward. However its limitations were realized and in 1979 it was shifted to a separate area with its own air-conditioning, air filtration plant, and temperature and humidity control, with a capacity of 7 neonates and this was partially equipped under the Colombo plan by the British Government.
Due to the ever increasing workload at this institute, the neonatal surgical ICU has now been expanded to accommodate ten newborns. It has been completely renovated and freshly equipped with state of art incubators, open infant care systems, portable incubators, neonatal ventilators, multi-function monitors, electronic weighing scale for the newborns, humidifiers, syringe pumps and slow suction machines.
From its inception the department has tried to take care of all surgical needs of children, excelling in hydrocephalus and spina bifida surgery. The Upadhyaya shunt was the first of its kind in India, manufactured using an indigenously developed valve in the department. The department has acquired fame and status as a center of excellence in the field of neonatal surgery, pediatric neurosurgery, thoracic surgery, plastic surgery, gastro-intestinal surgery, hepato-biliary surgery, urologic surgery, onco-surgery and endoscopic surgery. This is apparent from the number of admissions which were 443 in 1973, 1083 in 1983, 1641 in 1993 and 1772 in 1999 and 2201 in 2004-05. The number of operations performed per year also showed a similar trend. The increase in operating capacity has been made possible by the simultaneous development of pediatric anesthesia, pediatric radiology, pediatric pathology and pediatric nuclear medicine. Unfortunately, the department of Pediatric Surgery is only a part of this premier major institution and hence the limitation of the number of available beds and the operating time to us, forcing patients to be on the waiting list for months to many years for routine surgery.
At the national level, the department of pediatric surgery at this institute has made significant contributions to the development of Pediatric Surgery. The first ever national gathering of the country’s Pediatric surgeons took place in 1976 during the Ist WHO/NAMS sponsored National Seminar on Pediatric Surgery at AIIMS. The recommendations of the seminar formed the blue print for the evolution of pediatric surgery. A follow-up on this was made during the 2nd WHO/NAMS National Seminar on Pediatric Surgery in 1982 at AIIMS.
Workshops, Seminars, Sym[posia:
The department subsequently hosted the International Workshop on Neonatal Surgery in 1989. Since then, the department has been holding each year various workshops, symposia, conferences and other teaching courses. Over 25 such conferences have already been organized by the department in the field of paediatric thoracic surgery, pancreatic and hepatobiliary surgery, vascular malformations, esophageal surgery, pediatric urology and Intersex disorders, inviting each time distinguished faculty members from India and abroad. The department also hosted workshops and seminars for the training of nurses in neonatal intensive care, knot tying, staplers, suture practicum, neonatal resuscitation. International Workshop on Hypospadias and Intersex Disorders in 1999, International Workshop on Neonatal Surgery in the year 2000 and recently the International Workshop on Neurogenic bladder and the Hypospadias in 2001 have been very well attended by the delegates not only from various parts of India but overseas also. These all have been proved very educative and informative. The 3rd World Congress on Pediatric Esophagus including Prevention and Treatment of Caustic Esophageal Burns & Live Operative Workshop on Esophageal Surgery, (February 1-3, 2002) being organized by the Department is another feather in its cap in the field of education.
Past and present members of the department have received many prestigious awards and honors. The faculty members have served not only the National Association with flying colors but have also been nominated uncontested to the Asian Association and the World federation of Association of pediatric Surgeons. The faculty members are constantly updating their knowledge by participating in the national and the international conferences. They have also visited centers of excellence in Pediatric Surgery the world over through various fellowships and scholarships. Many of the alumni of the department are presently holding key faculty positions (Principal of the Medical College, heads of the departments in India and as the Consultant Pediatric surgeons) in various pediatric surgical centers in India and abroad.
The Department has made remarkable strides during the past 30 years and continue working hard for excellence in patient care, clinical and experimental research, and post-doctoral teaching and training the residents. We remain committed to continue this tradition to the best of our ability and dedication, and hopefully prove up to the expectations of the public at large.
“ It is not enough to begin. Continuance is necessary. The reason of failure in most cases is lack of perseverance.” |